Local Goa News

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

PANAJI: Stating that there is no central angle, but only state angle to the Medium of Instruction (MOI) issue, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday expressed confidence that a proposed meeting between the Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and the leaders of the Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM) would end the MoI-related imbroglio.
Informally interacting with the pressmen, the Defence Minister said that the BBSM leaders had recently handed over a memorandum to the Chief Minister, and a meeting between them is expected to be convened soon. “Earlier meetings between the government and the BBSM leaders did not reach any conclusion as both parties failed to reach an agreement point,” he observed, maintaining that the entire issue is hinging on one aspect, and that is withdrawal of government grants to some English primary schools in Goa.
Meanwhile, the BBSM co-ordinator Subhash Velingkar told ‘The Navhind Times’ Monday evening that the Manch has recently handed over a memorandum to the government, which states that the BBSM agitation is now entering the second phase, and it would be intensification of phase I of the agitation. “The memorandum also warns the government that it would be solely responsible for the repercussions of the second phase of agitation,” he added.
Speaking further, Parrikar said that his role in the MoI issue is limited to the stand taken by the Bharatiya Janata Party. “I am however, not the one to decide about the demand of the BBSM,” the Defence Minister stressed, informing that the stand of the BJP on the issue is clear, and the viewpoints of the BJP and those of the BBSM on the particular issue are same, except for one. “In fact, the government is facing administrative difficulty in withdrawing its grants to 100-odd English primary schools,” he noted.
The Defence Minister also refuted the speculations about the state government interacting with the central government, for mediating on the issue. “There is no central angle to this issue, but only state angle,” he mentioned.
Replying to another question as regards the BJP-Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party alliance, during the 2017 state assembly election, Parrikar said that both the parties are presently in alliance. “We would also form alliance during the forthcoming assembly polls,” he maintained, stating that the related seat-sharing talks however, have not taken place.